Why this thread didn't come up when I searched for butler issues I'll never know. I'm copying and pasting what I wrote in the thread I started (sorry, I totally would have posted here if this thread had come up).
My butler never sleeps. NEVER. There's a bed assigned to them but they refuse to sleep. As you know, if there is any sim awake on the lot, the game will not fast forward through ultra speed, which is just annoying.
Second issue, I fired the butler, yes I used the fire option. They sent a brand new butler. I assigned the butler the bed, they did a few things around the house, my sim traveled off lot. Came back, the original butler I fired was back. This happened more than once.
Fired the original butler a final time then deleted the sim completely. Hired a new butler. Great. Left the lot, returned, and there's a completely different butler on my lot than the one hired. Fine, whatever, assigned them a bed, they still won't sleep.
These issues are repeatable with or without mods. Also, I'm uncertain what time of day I hired the butlers except for the final one (with an entirely new butler replacing them) was in the morning. I've fired the butler and am hoping one doesn't decide to show up again later after my sims travel off lot.